Chase Merritt

Charles Ray Merritt was born 2nd May 1957. His friends and associates know him as Chase Merritt. Chase sub-contracted to Joey McStay’s Earth Inspired Products, water-fountain business. He’s a hands-on sort of man; welding, his game.

Sun in Taurus with a Moon in Gemini, this mix reveals an affinity for socialising with a definite air of simple pleasantness; an easygoing sort of fellow. The contrasting elements of slowness of Taurus and speed of Gemini generally produces a Taurus person more apt to make errors of judgment however.

The natural trait of stubbornness may still be present, but the Gemini Moon often shows a tendency to jump rather quickly to conclusions and the natural Taurus fixity is not nearly so apparent. But sometimes trouble can arise when someone with this mix makes a snap judgement, or forms a quick opinion then tenaciously holds to it; no matter what.

Mentally alert, however challenged by a short-term memory, there is an ever present tendency with this pairing to be too critical of other people. Continuous challenge and stimulation is required to keep these persons undivided attention. He’d not likely suffer fools too kindly. The mind is always needing something tangible and concrete with which to relate. Keeping himself mentally busy and stimulated is likely very important for Chase. He’d do well to take up every academic/artistic opportunity to learn new skills.

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At 8:28pm on 4th February 2010, Chase’s phone is ringing. Whether he is in a position to take a phone call, we do not know. However when we check a bi-wheel, he’s likely busy with his lady-love as he claims. That’s an unanswered call that he will replay in his head a thousand times over.

Natal Jupiter (green) is close to the ascendant and we know that Jupiter inflates whatever it touches. We also know that Chase has Jupiter peregrine in his natal chart. He does things to the extreme. We can suggest that his focus is on himself and what he is doing at the time, rather than a phone-call from his employer; Joey. They had lunched together that day as well as exchanged a number of phone calls. It was likely nothing that couldn’t wait.

The transiting Sun in the heavens is in tension with his Venus-Mercury conjunction. This is not an ideal situation to be taking a call when he is supposedly ‘in-communicado’ with his lady.

I suggested at the time, that due to the lack of tension in the bi-wheel, Chase Merritt did not speak directly with Joseph McStay on that occasion, nor was he involved in the events that led to the murder of Joseph McStay and his family according to his astrology chart (method). The emotive tension just isn’t there for us to interpret.

It was when we received notification of the finding of the graves, then we revisited Chase Merrit’s astrology, due to his connection to nearby Apple Valley.

The inner wheel of this second bi-wheel is the perspective of minutes after the 911 reporting the finding of remains in Victorville and the outer wheel, again the natal chart for Chase Merritt.

Date on the calendar (orange in the inner wheel) intersects his natal Lunar nodal axis – a traumatic event, catapulting him into the public arena again.

Transiting Saturn intersects the natal midpoint Sun/Venus-Mercury – the classic interpretation of this aspect is ‘a fear of separation’.

However we have to ask, what is he afraid of – separation from his home (4th house)? Being arrested perhaps.

Does this man have information to share about the disposal of the bodies? We know he spent some of his youth in the area.

Transiting Mercury (yellow) square natal Uranus. The news that the bodies have been found has upset his apple cart.

When we flip this bi-wheel and centre it over his present home address, this gives us a locator angle directly to the site of the graves (method)

This man needs a bit of pressure applied to tell what he knows. I would suggest that he is shaking in his boots; very anxious. Why, Chase?

Aha… when I research further, we find an address connected to Chase Merritt in Apple Valley – just a 20min drive from the burial site. Another property. No wonder he is nervous.

One would think that perhaps he got wind of what was going down, at some stage.

We now know that CM listed this Apple Valley property for sale just weeks after the McStays disappeared.

We also discovered that his business had little value without Joey being around and that in fact, the bottom fell out of Chase’s bucket as a result.

He would have needed to liquidate his assets, if he were financially strapped for cash. The property in Apple Valley was sold. So with this knowledge on board, I would suggest that his second bi-wheel reflects this; dredging his failures up all over again.

Update November 2014

Charged on 5th November 2014 for the murder of the McStay family, this is Charles Ray Merritt’s previous criminal record. The arraignment is set for 12th November.

Due to the lack of emotive response, we had not generated a chart for Chase for the time of the Trooper exiting the driveway. That of course needs to be visited in consideration of this week’s events.

We do not have his time of birth and so his natal Moon (blue) at the top of the chart and conjunct the MC cannot be taken as an exact conjunction – it is calculated as a mid-range for the date of his birth (noon).

The influence is there though, with his driving needs (Moon) on the cusp of his 10th house (his career). We have to ask, “Is his career under threat?”

We then turn to hard aspects and we see that his natal Saturn Rx (red) is in direct opposition. This reveals that IF his career is under threat, it is because of his natal character traits; self-sabotage, lack of self-control.

Natal Saturn is at the IC opposing his career – focus on ambition

Midpoints reveal a subtle layer behind this weakness. The following likely stems from early childhood development in relation to family dynamics together with a lack of male mentoring.

We still don’t have the forensic indicators present with the planetary positions to identify the aggression that has been suggested that this man unleashed upon the family. We turn to the asteroids.

Tr Ixion #28978 at 16°Sagittarius – identifies murder. This asteroid is conjunct Chase’s natal Saturn at the IC in the 7:47pm bi-wheel. This would suggest motive to me – his career was at stake. Had Joey decided to terminate his input into the EIP business? Why?

Joey and Chase had met at lunch ostensibly to discuss the Saudi Arabian contract to install fountains. Had Chase possibly come clean to Joey over lunch about the fact that he was still on probation and therefore unlikely to get a visa to go to Saudi to complete the deal/do the welding? Was Joey being left out on a limb?

The Avocado Vista Lane house and Chase Merritt

We may not have seen an emotive reaction in the man to the event, however the house tells us a story about this man.

Note that the house placements in the bi-wheel cannot be taken into consideration for the interpretation as we are viewing from the perspective of the house, however Merritt’s natal Lunar nodal axis is nudging the horizon line – creating trauma at the house. Plus natal Pluto at the mid-heaven – the ultimate power position in the house.

House asteroid Hermes #69230 is conjunct Merritt’s Mars at 28°Gemini – non observance of boundaries with his words and actions. This is a recurring theme in this bi-wheel as the tension will reveal.

House Mars opposite Merritt’s Mars – action man when in the house; definitely not passive. He comes to work, not sit and drink cups of tea.

House Venus (pink – the family) square natal Sun. Offsided with the family; they are not close to this man.

House Pluto conjunct his Saturn Rx – potential self-destruction by lack of self-control

House Saturn opposite his Saturn Rx – a Saturn return identifies a male being tested about self-control with women and mirroring the boundaries between the sexes.

This bi-wheel has revealed to me that Merritt’s male mentoring as a young child was sadly lacking (Saturn retrograde in the natal chart) i.e. learning about male-female relationships by observation of his parents’ interactions. He does not appear to have learned that the power of the woman in her own home is uppermost.

There is something very warped in the dominance of this tension in the bi-wheel – Saturn-Moon-Saturn-Pluto. When Merritt’s father was absent did he interpret that another male in the household would take the place of dominance?

See discussion page for interpretation of phone conversations between Joey and Chase on 4 Feb 2010.

James Wesley Merritt, Chase Merritt’s great grand-pappy was convicted of killing his wife’s cousin, Joel F. Brown. He was received at the prison in Huntsville, TX, on 12 Apr 1899 to serve a four-year sentence. His prisoner number was #17719.